Any Time
by Kay Skie
Summary: Annabeth and Percy have been best friends since they were six. They're each other's confidants and the one they call when everything goes wrong. This is a collection of snapshots as they navigate life together and of course, try to figure out how to make their best friend know exactly how much they love them without words. (High School AU and College AU.)
1. Catch You

" _Well I'm no angel but I'm willing to watch over you."_ – "Catch You" -Dashboard Confessional

Age 18

ANNABETH

The song, "Modest Manifesto" by Houston Calls wakes Annabeth up. She rolls over in her bed and squints in the darkness of her dorm-room as she searches for the source of the sound. Her sleep-addled brain takes a moment to realize the music's coming from her phone. A picture of her best friend, Percy, flashes on the screen. Just under Percy's wide grin is the current time: 1:28AM. Why's he calling so late? Is he okay? Annabeth feels nauseous as she thinks about all the other times Percy has called her past midnight.

Annabeth answers her phone. "Hello?" She asks.

"Can you pick me up?" Percy asks.

"Where are you?" She asks.

"I'm at the hospital." His voice shakes. "Can you give me a ride? Please? I know that you're mad at me, but I don't know who else to call."

In her panic, Annabeth had forgotten that they were in a fight. What was it about again? Ah, yes, Percy doesn't want her to date their senior friend, Luke Castellan. Percy claimed he thinks Luke's bad news even though they're all friends. Annabeth was mad at Percy because she thought he was jealous like she was jealous when Percy dated Rachel Dare their sophomore year of high school. They need to work on their jealousy issues if they want to maintain their friendship.

There was no spark between Annabeth and Luke anyway. They left their date tonight, well technically last night, deciding to be friends instead of anything romantic.

"Which hospital?" Annabeth asks.

"St. Augustine's I think." Percy replies.

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"I just thought—"

"—Don't worry about it."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten jealous. Luke's great and so are you."

"I'll be there soon Seaweed Brain."

"Okay Wise Girl."

Annabeth shoves her feet into her shoes without bothering to lace them, glad that her roommate, Clarisse is at an away-game for rugby because that means that Annabeth can turn the lights on without worrying about waking Clarisse up. Annabeth pockets her phone and grabs the essentials: a hoody, her keys, and student ID. Then she sneaks out of the dorm, trying her best to be quiet to uphold the weekend Quiet Hours and not wake everyone up who might be sleeping. She makes it outside and sprints from her dorm to the parking lot, and gets in her car as quickly as she can, nearly forgetting to put her seatbelt on.

When she gets to the hospital, she finds Percy waiting outside. He's sitting on the steps. His face is a mess. His bottom lip's busted and there's an enormous bruise forming on his forehead. He smiles when he sees Annabeth. In the dim light from the street lamps, Annabeth thinks she sees all the teeth that should be present in Percy's smile but she can't be sure.

"What happened?" Annabeth asks. She kneels down in front of Percy and reaches out to touch his face. Then she stops because they're in a fight and he probably wouldn't like it anyway.

"Car-crash," Percy replies. He takes longer than usual to answer.

Annabeth feels a jolt of adrenaline and protectiveness. Whose fault was the car-crash? Percy's or the other driver? Is Percy's car okay? How bad are Percy's injuries? Why is he sitting on the hospital steps instead of inside the hospital? Instead of overloading Percy with questions, Annabeth asks him two.

"What did the doctors say? What's injured aside from your head?" Annabeth asks.

"I got lucky. It's just my noggin. Do you remember that weird tv program for kids? We used to watch it all the time." Percy replies.

"I remember, but what did the doctors say? Do you have a concussion?"

"I think that was the word. That or contraption or condominium or commotion. Some fancy word that starts with con."

"Commotion starts with com."

Why did she correct him? He's concussed.

Percy's cheeks turn red. "Yeah, you would know. You're the smarter one Wise Girl." He smiles at her but it looks like it hurts. Maybe it does.

"Did they tell you anything important?" Annabeth asks. "Did they give you any pamphlets when you checked out? You did check yourself out; right?"

Percy hands Annabeth a piece of paper. "They gave me that when I checked out. I'm supposed to get someone to watch me for a while. Can you drive me back to my dorm? I'm tired."

Annabeth tries to use the dim streetlight to read the paper which she's sure must be full of instructions about how to take care of someone who's got a concussion, but she's freaking out and can't concentrate which is screwing with her dyslexia. "I can watch you." Annabeth says.

"Really?"

"Of course. Was there anything else?"

"Are you sure? I was a jerk."

"Yes Percy, I'm sure. Are you ready to go?"

Percy nods and winces. He stands and walks over to Annabeth.

She offers him her hand. He laces their fingers and they walk to Annabeth's car. It's a tradition for them to hold hands when the other's upset or injured. Percy started it when they were ten and Annabeth broke her ankle during a soccer game. Annabeth's dad wasn't there so Percy's mom, Sally, drove Percy and Annabeth to the hospital. Annabeth was crying because her ankle hurt so Percy held her hand. It has since become their thing.

...

Annabeth pulls out the blow-up mattress that she and Clarisse store in the shelf above their closets. It's reserved for guest-use. She blows it up, grabs one of her pillows from her bed, and throws a spare blanket on the air-mattress.

"Okay, you take the real bed and I'll take this one. Okay?" Annabeth says.

"I can take this one." Percy covers up a yawn with his hand. "You're doing me the favor. Remember? Please sleep in your bed."

"You're injured. You should sleep in the slightly more comfortable bed." Annabeth says.

"What if we shared it instead? We did when we were kids." Percy looks ready to fall over from exhaustion. Annabeth needs to look up if that's normal. She knows it's okay to let someone with a concussion sleep though which is why she's trying to get Percy to go to bed.

"We were eight the last time we did that." Annabeth points out.

"I just don't want you sleeping on the floor." Percy yawns.

"I won't be sleeping on the floor. I'll be sleeping on the air-mattress."

"That's practically the same thing."

"Okay, we can share the bed." Annabeth says.

"Good." Percy nods and climbs onto the bed.

Annabeth kicks the air-mattress aside and puts the pillow back on the bed. Then she makes sure the door is locked.

"Can I turn the light out?" Annabeth asks.

"Yeah," Percy's voice is so soft Annabeth nearly misses it.

Annabeth turns the light off and crawls into bed next to Percy. "Do you have enough room?" Annabeth asks.

"Yeah," Percy whispers.

Neither says anything. Then Percy breaks the silence. "When Mom would work late and I annoyed Smelly Gabe, he would make me sleep on an air-mattress. He would deflate it a little so I was basically sleeping on the floor. He made me swear to tell my mom I liked it if she ever saw or he would hurt her." Percy whispers.

"I'm sorry." Annabeth whispers.

"It's not your fault. You didn't make him do it."

"I'm sorry you were stuck with him for so long."

Percy doesn't say anything. Eventually his breathing deepens and Annabeth's almost certain he's asleep. She pulls her phone out of her pocket and turns the screen on its dimmest brightness setting. Then she uses the light to look at the doctor's instructions on how to watch over someone with a concussion until she falls asleep.

…

Annabeth wakes up to the sound of someone sniffling. Is Percy okay?

"Percy?" Annabeth mumbles.

The sniffling stops. Annabeth can feel the bed shift as Percy stops moving next to her.

"Percy? What's wrong?" Annabeth asks. She turns over in the bed so she's facing Percy.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep." Percy says in an uneven voice.

"You, my dear friend, are a terrible liar." Annabeth replies.

Percy lets out something that resembles a laugh and a sob.

"What's wrong Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asks.

"My head hurts and I miss my mom." Percy sniffles.

Oh, Seaweed Brain.

"I'm sorry he took her away from you." Annabeth whispers.

"I miss her so much." Percy chokes out.

Annabeth hugs Percy. He buries his face in her shoulder and sobs.

"I'm so sorry Percy." Annabeth whispers. "She would be _so_ proud of you if she saw you now."

Percy shakes his head.

"Yes, she would. You're kind and you listen to people when they have bad days and you smile at everyone. If someone drops their bag, you help them pick up the contents. You go out of your way to make people's days. You're such a good person. Your mom would be proud of you for that."

"I was a bad friend to you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay Percy. We're friends. Friends fight."

"We fight a lot." Percy sniffles.

"You were just keeping our pattern going." Annabeth replies.

Percy laughs a tiny bit and Annabeth's heart skips a beat.

"By the way, how was your date?" Percy asks.

"There was no spark." Annabeth says, knowing he'll get it.

"I'm sorry Annie,"

"You've known me since we were six. You know I don't like being called Annie." Annabeth says, unable to ignore the warm feeling that always spreads in her chest when Percy calls her that. She hates the nickname, but it always makes her smile for some reason.

"Yeah, but it always makes you smile." Percy says.

"Thanks Percy."

"Any time Annabeth."

Neither of them says anything for a few beats. Then Percy whispers, "Can we watch a movie?"

"I don't think that's good for a concussion; is it?" Annabeth replies.

"I'll tell you if I my head hurts too badly. I just can't feel my feet and need to move into a different position—like movie-watching position."

"Okay, but if you suggest we watch _Lilo and Stitch_ one more time, you and I will have some problems, friendo."

"But it's my favorite and I have an owie head."

"You can't see because it's dark, but I'm rolling my eyes at you."

Percy laughs.

Annabeth pulls away from Percy, gets off the bed, walks to the door, and turns on the light. Then she sets the movie up on her laptop. She glances at Percy who's positioning the pillows on the bed for optimal movie-watching. He has done the same thing since they were twelve and Annabeth's dad made her keep the door open when Percy was in her room. They weren't ever going to do anything, just watch a movie-like they are now.

Percy's asleep before the montage of Nani finding a job. Annabeth's a little sad because Percy's favorite part is when David and Nani take Lilo and Stitch surfing. It's probably for the best; Percy needs the sleep. He's resting his head against Annabeth's shoulder. She knows he'll probably drool a little, but she's used to it by now.

…

Percy insists on taking Annabeth out to breakfast when they wake up in the morning. He's a lifeguard at their college's gym and insists on treating his friends when he can. Annabeth treats him back. She has a job at their college's library.

"Do you want to pick up your car after breakfast?" Annabeth asks as they get in Annabeth's car.

"That would be great actually." Percy says. "Can I buy you breakfast first though?"

"Hungry?"

"Oh yeah, but also, you're doing me a favor and I'd like to get to do something for you in return."

"You don't have to do that."

"I know, but I want to."

"Okay Percy. Thanks."

"If anyone should be thanking anyone it should be _me_ thanking _you_." Percy winces.

"Do you need any medicine for your head?"

"Sorry, it just kinda hit me."

"It's okay. I might have some in the dorm. I can run up and check." Annabeth undoes her seatbelt, glad she hadn't started driving yet so she can hopefully get Percy immediate relief. "I'll be right back." Annabeth opens the door and hops out, closing the door behind her.

She finds Tylenol in her medicine drawer. She grabs the medicine, a water-bottle, and a blanket; then she heads back to the car.

Annabeth opens the door to find Percy holding his head in his hands.

"Percy?" Annabeth asks. "What's wrong?"

"I'm dizzy." Percy says. His voice is quiet.

"I've got the medicine. It might help with the headache." Annabeth says. "Also, if you feel this bad, maybe you should stay at the dorm. I can go grab us some breakfast sandwiches from Wawa, and then you can try to go to sleep again to see if that helps."

"But I was supposed to get to do something nice for _you_." Percy's voice cracks.

Annabeth's heart cracks along with his voice. Being emotional is a concussion symptom, but it still hurts to hear Percy in pain.

Annabeth sits in the driver's seat and puts her hand on Percy's shoulder. He won't look at her.

"Percy, please let me take care of you. You're always taking care of me. You drag me out of the library at midnight, you buy me orange juice when I'm sick, you bring me food when I'm studying, you listen when I'm upset and need to talk about something, you do so much for me. Please let me take care of you for once."

"Funnily enough, I feel like it's always you taking care of me. Last night wasn't the first time I've called you for help after midnight. You also listen when I'm upset and need to talk about all the junk running through my head. You remind me not to take too many shifts at work. You help me study."

"Then I guess it's more of a team effort than we both thought."

Percy looks at Annabeth and manages a smile. "Looks like,"

"Let's head back to the dorm. Okay? Do you want the medicine first?"

"Yes, please," Percy answers.

Annabeth hands Percy the water-bottle and pills. Percy looks at the label, gets one pill out, hands the bottle to Annabeth, takes a swig of water, and tosses the pill into his mouth. He wrinkles his nose in disgust. Percy hates taking pills.

"What's the blanket for?" Percy asks.

"I thought you might want to press your face into it if your head hurt. There's a soft side and a cool side." Annabeth explains.

Percy hugs Annabeth. "Thank you."

Annabeth hugs Percy back. "Any time."


	2. Odd One, You're Never Alone

" _Don't let someone tell you you're no on_ e," –"Odd One" -Sick Puppies

 **Percy**

Percy's eleven when Annabeth asks what he believes is arguably the worst question in existence.

"Why do you even bother with me?" Annabeth asks.

Percy feels like upchucking the pizza he ate an hour ago. He's lying on his back with his legs on the couch, playing Mario Kart upside down in Annabeth's living room. Annabeth's sitting on the couch and he can't really see her from here so he sits with his legs crossed on the floor instead so he can look up at her.

"Why would you ask that?" Percy replies. "We've been best friends for almost six years."

"My mom couldn't be bothered to stay. I hardly see my dad. Why haven't you taken their hint that I'm no good?" Annabeth asks. She sounds ready to cry.

Percy doesn't know what to say. He doesn't know why she's so upset all of a sudden. What happened? Why's she sad? Obviously, he knows _why_ she's sad but why is she thinking about this _right now_? What reminded her of her parents? Percy doesn't know the answer to any of these questions. All he knows is Annabeth's sitting all alone on the couch, staring at the floor as her bottom lip quivers. She swipes at her eyes and Percy's heart nearly breaks. She's crying. It takes _a lot_ to make Annabeth cry. It takes things like breaking a bone or seeing a movie where a dog dies to make Annabeth cry.

Percy sits on the couch beside Annabeth. "Can I hug you?" He asks. He always likes to ask because sometimes he doesn't like to be touched so he doesn't want to assume Annabeth or anyone else wants to be touched all the time.

Annabeth nods. She still won't look at Percy.

Percy hugs her and says, "You're my best friend. You put up with my weirdness, and you help me when I'm sad, and you rescue me from spelling tests."

Annabeth giggles a little. Percy's shoulder feels wet where her face is pressed against it.

"You're the first person I want to share good news with." Percy adds.

"That's your mom, Percy." Annabeth chimes in. Her voice sounds clogged.

"Okay, after my mom, but she seems more like a saint than a person. You're the first _friend_ I want to tell things to. You go to my swim meets. You watch _Star Wars_ with me even though they're not exactly your favorite movies. Just because your parents can't see how amazing you are, doesn't mean that I can't. I see it every day. Our friends see it too. Thalia does _not_ have pity-friends Annabeth. She has no problem letting people know she does not want to be around them. Also, if you disagree with people, you let them know."

Annabeth pulls away. "I'm too stubborn not to."

"Exactly! That's one of your good qualities. You don't just do what people want; you have your own ideas. That's awesome Annabeth." Percy says.

"But my parents don't want me." Annabeth says in a small voice.

"That's their problem-not yours. You can share my mom if you want. She's always wanted a daughter."

Despite herself, Annabeth smiles. "I don't think that's how that works Seaweed Brain."

Percy grins. "Sure, it is,"

Percy offers Annabeth his hand. Annabeth laces their fingers and they hold hands for a while.

"Can I ask why you started thinking about this?" Percy asks.

"Today's my mom's birthday." Annabeth answers.

Percy is literally the worst.

"I totally forgot." Percy whispers. "I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to remember this stuff. It's okay." Annabeth replies.

"You're my best friend. I am definitely supposed to remember this stuff Annie-beth." Percy replies, hoping to get a smile out of Annabeth.

She smiles as she says, "You know I don't like being called Annie, Percy."

"You're smiling."

"So?"

"Doesn't that mean you like it?"

"Looks can be deceiving. Maybe I'm luring you into a false sense of comfort before I strike."

Percy hates the word "strike"; it reminds him of Gabe. The only time strike is an okay word is at a bowling alley. Of course, Percy doesn't mention that.

Percy plasters on a grin and says, "Oh yeah, that sounds about right."

Annabeth giggles. "I could be fierce if I wanted to."

"You already are. Have you seen the way you stare someone down when they try to slack off on a group project? I could've sworn Travis was going to pee his pants last week after he asked if you could do the project because you were the smartest in the group." Percy replies.

"I don't think school counts. Plus, Travis Stoll should know better than to try to get someone else to do his part of a project for him. I wish we could've picked our partners. Then we could've worked together."

"Yeah; then I could've gotten to have an easy time working on a project."

"Hilarious."

"I try."

"I can tell."

They go back to their game for a while. Then Annabeth pauses it.

"Hey Percy?" Annabeth asks.

"Yeah?" Percy asks.

"Thanks."

"Any time."

* * *

Percy's thirteen when he finds Annabeth crying on the school's front steps. Percy had to stay after school because he was in detention because he got into a fight with Steve Spencer for harassing Percy's younger cousin, Nico. He's not sure why Annabeth's here though.

"Annabeth?" Percy asks.

Annabeth jumps and looks up at Percy with bloodshot grey eyes. "What are you doing here?" Annabeth asks.

"I had detention; remember?" Percy sits beside Annabeth. "Why are you crying? What happened?"

"My dad was supposed to pick me up. He must've forgotten which would be okay if he would answer his stupid phone. I've called him six times." Annabeth covers her mouth and closes her eyes.

"Can I hug you?" Percy asks.

Annabeth nods.

Percy pulls Annabeth into his arms and she nuzzles her face into his shoulder. His shoulder feels hot and wet. He can feel Annabeth shake a tiny bit.

"Why am I so forgettable?" Annabeth whispers. "My mom said she would write me letters or emails or call me when she left, but she never did. All I have is my dad who can't remember to pick me up from school."

"You're not forgettable. They're just jerks." Percy tells her.

"But they're my parents. They're _supposed_ to love me. Why can't they do that? What did I do wrong?" Annabeth sobs.

Now _Percy_ feels like crying.

"I don't know, Wise Girl." Percy says. "I'm sorry they treat you this way."

Annabeth doesn't say anything.

"Do you want my mom to drive you home?" Percy asks. "She should be here any minute."

"Are you sure that won't be too much trouble?" Annabeth asks.

"Of course, it won't be. You're my best friend. Plus, my mom loves you. She would have no problem driving you home."

"Okay. Thank you for that. You're a good best friend."

"Well, you're the _best_ , best friend." Percy replies.

Annabeth laughs. "Thanks Percy."

"Any time Annabeth." Percy promises. "And your dad isn't all you have. You've got me too any time, any place."

"Thanks for that." Annabeth sniffles. "You've got me too by the way."

"I'm glad. You're pretty amazing Wise Girl."

"Thanks Seaweed Brain. You're pretty amazing too."

Percy can feel his face heat up. Sometimes when he's around Annabeth and she says something nice to him he gets _so nervous_ like he can just feel that he's going to do something stupid and his heart won't stop pounding hard in his chest. Can she hear it?

Percy offers Annabeth his hand. She laces their fingers. His heartbeat goes even faster. He didn't think that was possible. Why does this feel weird now? It didn't use to. What changed?


	3. Emergency

" _It's really not your fault,"_ –"Emergency" -Paramore

Age 16

ANNABETH

Percy gets like this sometimes. He sends her strange texts and asks her odd questions. Annabeth has never known him to be normal, but sometimes this behavior makes her worry about him.

PERCY: Do you ever just stare into space until your eyes water?

Annabeth stares at the text for at least five minutes until she thinks of a reply.

ANNABETH: Not really. Do you?

He replies a minute later.

PERCY: Sometimes.

ANNABETH: Why are you texting so late? Is something wrong?

It's 1:24AM on a school night. He sends worrying texts at random times throughout the day, but he never sends texts _this_ late.

PERCY: Nothing's wrong. I was just curious is all. No worries Annie B.

ANNABETH: There will be some worries if you call me Annie B. again.

PERCY: Oh please. You'd never hurt ME.

Before Annabeth can reply, Percy sends a second text.

PERCY: Right?

Annabeth feels a little sick. She would never hurt him. They've had spats throughout the years, but she wouldn't do and hasn't done anything to intentionally hurt him.

ANNABETH: Never.

PERCY: Goodnight Annabeth.

ANNABETH: Goodnight Percy.

…

It happens again two weeks later.

PERCY: Do you believe in fate?

Annabeth looks at the time. It's 11:58PM. At least it's not past midnight yet. Why's Percy up this late on a Tuesday? Doesn't he have a Pre-calculus test tomorrow? Maybe his ADHD keeps him up later than he likes. Annabeth's ADHD does that to her sometimes.

ANNABETH: I believe we make our own fate.

PERCY: You don't think some people are destined to be failures?

ANNABETH: No. Why?

Why's he asking this at 12:01AM? Is he worried about his test? Pre-calc isn't his best subject but he's been studying for it since last Wednesday. He should be fine.

PERCY: No reason.

ANNABETH: If there was a reason, would you tell me?

Unlike the previous texts, Percy doesn't reply right away. Annabeth wonders if he has fallen asleep and considers trying to do the same. Then her phone flashes on. Annabeth opens it up to see a text from Percy.

PERCY: I don't know.

Annabeth's chest tightens. Why won't he tell her? Doesn't he trust her? They tell each other everything. At least she _thought_ they did.

ANNABETH: Don't you trust me?

PERCY: Not with this.

What's special about this? Is this especially bad? Does this have anything to do with why he sometimes comes to school with a limp or bruises? Annabeth has seen him walk; he's not _that_ clumsy.

ANNABETH: If you can't tell me. Will you at least promise to tell someone else?

Percy doesn't reply for an hour so Annabeth finally goes back to sleep.

…

Annabeth doesn't see Percy at school the next day, so after the last bell rings, she skips her National Honor Society meeting like a normal sixteen year-old would and checks on her best friend. She can't remember the last time she has been to his apartment. He's always at her house. That's how it's been since they were eight and Percy's mom married Gabe Ugliano.

Annabeth walks up the steps and buzzes in to Percy's apartment. Percy hasn't been returning her text messages so maybe he'll return her buzz. That sounds strange. In all the years Annabeth has known Percy, she has become attuned to strange.

"Who's there?" A gruff voice asks.

"Hi, I'm looking for Percy. I'm his friend, Annabeth." Annabeth replies.

"He's busy." The voice answers immediately.

"Can you tell him that I came to see him?" Annabeth asks.

The voice doesn't reply. After ten minutes, Annabeth walks down the steps, gets into her car, and goes home.

When she gets home, Annabeth sends Percy a text.

ANNABETH: I tried to visit your apartment. Someone said you were busy. Was that your stepdad?

It's odd. Annabeth has never met Percy's stepdad. He sounded angry.

…

Annabeth's phone chimes. It wakes her up, so she picks her phone up off her bedside table. That was her text-alert noise. She turns her screen on and sees that it's 3:12AM. She has a text from Percy.

PERCY: Sorry, I just got your message. I was cleaning when you came. Why'd you come to the apartment?

ANNABETH: I wanted to check on you. Didn't you have a test in Pre-Calc?

PERCY: I forgot about it.

ANNABETH: Why weren't you at school?

PERCY: I'm sick.

ANNABETH: I hope you feel better soon. Why are you up so late?

PERCY: Why are you up so late?

ANNABETH: Your text woke me up.

PERCY: Oh. Sorry. I didn't think about that.

ANNABETH: I don't mind. What's up?

PERCY: You want to continue texting each other at three in the morning when we have school tomorrow?

I've loved you since we were twelve. I'd do anything for you Percy.

Annabeth can't say _that_.

ANNABETH: What are friends for?

PERCY: That's usually my line.

ANNABETH: Exactly. Let me help you for once.

PERCY: How was your yesterday?

They text until the sun comes up.

PERCY: See you at school.

ANNABETH: See you.

Annabeth starts to put her phone away, but it beeps again. There's another text from Percy.

PERCY: Thank you.

ANNABETH: Any time.

Annabeth means it.

…

Percy shows up to school with a bruise on his face. It looks like a fist.

"What happened?" Annabeth asks.

"I don't want to talk about it." Percy's voice sounds like snow when you step on it-more crackling than speech.

Annabeth wants to say something, but after knowing Percy for over a decade, Annabeth has learned when not to say something. He has a look in his eyes like a cornered alley cat: he's ready to crawl up a fence or wall or go through any other great lengths to escape.

Instead of offering words, Annabeth offers her hand.

Percy offers Annabeth a ghost of a smile and takes her hand. They sit together on a bench outside, holding hands and not talking. The silence is broken up by Percy who occasionally coughs, sniffles, or sneezes. Why was coming to school sick a better option than staying home and resting?

When the warning bell rings, Percy stands first but doesn't let go of Annabeth's hand. They walk to their homeroom, the one class they share, and as they step inside, Percy says, "Thank you."

His face is red and he lets go of Annabeth's hand.

"Any time." Annabeth replies.

…

It's 12:13AM when Annabeth receives the call.

"Annabeth?" Percy's voice shakes.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth asks. Her heart's starting to beat faster like she's running.

"I'm at the hospital. Will you pick me up?" He asks.

Annabeth has her own car and her dad won't notice if she's gone.

"Of course. Which one is it?" Annabeth asks.

Percy gives her directions in a breaking voice.

"I'll be there soon." Annabeth says.

"Thank you." Percy chokes on the words like he's trying not to cry.

The sound makes Annabeth's eyes prick with tears.

"Any time." She promises.

Annabeth would be lying if she said she didn't speed the whole way there. She barely remembers to put her car in park after she finally finds a vacant spot in the parking lot. Then she scrambles to the first desk that's occupied by someone working in the hospital and asks, "Do you know where I can find Percy Jackson?"

The woman starts typing on her computer. "We don't have a Percy Jackson in the system." She says.

"What about a Perseus Jackson? That's his full name." Annabeth says.

The woman types into the computer again. "I'm sorry but we don't have a Perseus Jackson in the system either." She smiles apologetically.

Annabeth feels sick as it hits her. _That's_ why Percy was so close to crying. "What about a Sally Jackson?" Annabeth whispers.

"I'm sorry dear, can you repeat that?" The woman asks.

"What about a Sally Jackson?" Annabeth asks in a louder voice.

The woman types into the computer again. "She's in the ER." She says.

"Where's the waiting room nearest to the ER?" Annabeth asks. She feels dizzy. Poor Percy. He must be so worried about his mom.

The woman gives Annabeth directions and Annabeth all but sprints to find Percy. After getting lost twice, Annabeth finally finds Percy sitting in the ER waiting room that's deserted except for a man with a leg in a cast who's asleep on the other side of the room from Percy.

Percy's sitting with his head in his hands. His shoulders are shaking.

"Percy?" Annabeth asks when she's close enough.

Percy hastily rubs his eyes on his sleeve and presses his fist against his mouth. His face has two bruises now and his right arm is in a sling. His face looks feverish and his eyes are puffy; he must've been crying for a while before Annabeth got here.

"What happened?" Annabeth asks.

Percy glances at the sleeping man. Then he looks at the ground. "My mom was in a car-crash." He sniffles. "It's my fault. I sent her a text while she was driving. I should've just waited to talk to her until she got home but I didn't know she was coming home early and now she might be dying and she's been in there for _hours_ and they haven't told me anything and it's all my fault, and, and, and I couldn't take being in here without someone to talk to anymore, and, and, and I'm scared!" Percy shoves his face in his hands again.

Annabeth puts her hand on Percy's shoulder and he flinches. Annabeth removes her hand immediately.

"Sorry." She says.

"No. I'm sorry. I'm just tired." Percy sobs. "I don't want to lose my mom."

"Is it okay if I hug you?" Annabeth asks.

"I don't deserve it." Percy shakes his head.

"You _do_ deserve a hug if you want one." Annabeth says.

Percy doesn't say anything. He just stares at her with wide, bloodshot eyes full of disbelief. Tears pool out of his eyes and spill down his cheeks, dripping down his chin.

Annabeth offers Percy her hand.

Percy slowly reaches out and gingerly laces their fingers.

They sit like this for at least an hour, not saying anything, just exchanging glances every now and again. Annabeth doesn't bring up the tears that haven't stopped dripping down Percy's face. Percy doesn't say anything about Annabeth crying either. She loves Sally too, but Sally's Percy's whole world. Annabeth's so scared that Percy will lose his mom. She doesn't want him to suffer that fate. What would he do without his mom?

A nurse finally walks into a room and calls out, "Family of Sally Jackson?"

Percy rushes over to the nurse. Annabeth follows.

"How's my mom?" Percy asks.

"We're going to need to keep her here for a few days to make sure she's recovering well, but she'll live." The nurse says.

"Can I see her?" Percy asks.

"Not yet. She's resting. You should go home and check on her tomorrow. Do you have anyone who can drive you home?" The nurse replies. He looks worried about Percy. Was he here when Percy's mom was brought in? Was he here when _Percy_ got here?

"No. I'll wait here." Percy says.

"Kid, you need to get some sleep. We're taking care of your mom. You need to take care of yourself; okay?" The nurse says.

"I can take you home if you want." Annabeth offers. "But, we could also wait here if that's what you want."

Percy looks at Annabeth with exhausted green eyes. There are purple splotches from lack of sleep and his hair's a mess-probably from all the times he has held his head in his hands tonight.

"What do you think will be best?" Percy asks.

"You get to decide Percy. She's your mom." Annabeth says in the gentlest voice she can muster.

Percy nods.

"It might be good to leave here until tomorrow." He whispers.

"Okay. Do you need to pick up anything before we go?" Annabeth asks.

Percy shakes his head. He glances at the sleeping man and then looks at Annabeth and says, "I've got everything I need to go home."

Annabeth gives Percy's hand a little squeeze.

Percy doesn't say anything until they get in Annabeth's car.

"Can I stay with you tonight? I really don't want to be home alone. Please?" Percy asks in a quiet, defeated voice, like he's sure she'll say "no", like he doesn't deserve this one request to be granted.

"Of course. Anything you need." Annabeth says.

Percy sniffles and something akin to a sob bursts out of him, but he manages to say, "Thank you."

"Any time." Annabeth tells him, just like she always tells him, just like he always tells her.

"No, really, thank you for everything." Percy's voice shakes.

"I'm here if you need anything Percy. You'd do the same for me-you _have_ done the same for me. You're just as important as I am in this friendship." Annabeth reminds him.

Percy hesitates and then asks, "Can I-can I have that hug now?"

Annabeth hugs Percy. He hugs her back tightly, burying his face in her shoulder.

"I'm scared," Percy chokes out.

Annabeth feels like someone's digging into her heart with a needle, like when someone's tries to draw her blood but can't find the vein. Her eyes fill with tears and she pulls Percy a little closer. "I know you are, but she's going to be okay. She's strong-just like you are." Annabeth tells him.

Percy shakes his head and starts sobbing.

"You are so strong Percy. Just like your mom. She's gonna be okay." Annabeth says even though her throat hurts from trying not to cry.

"I asked her to pick me up some medicine because I don't feel good. It's my fault she was distracted and didn't see the truck run the red light and hit her side. My stepdad was in the car. He said it was my fault. He was there so he must be right." Percy barely gets the words out before a new wave of sobs crashes over him and takes him under.

Oh Percy.

"This isn't your fault." Annabeth tells him as tears fill her eyes.

Percy shakes his head.

"It's not." Annabeth forces down a sob. "It's not your fault. I don't care what your stepdad says. It's not your fault."

When Percy calms down, he pulls away, and whispers, "Thank you."

"Any time." Annabeth replies.

"Promise?"

"I promise."


	4. Voldemort

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, sorry for the long update-wait. I've recently finished my Junior Year of college and just got home for the summer.  
Also, I sincerely enjoy reading and replying to reviews because your feedback is important to me, so I'm not going to stop replying to them, but after I post this chapter, I _am_ going to start replying to reviews on the bottom of every update. I'm twenty-one and I don't know how old you all are. Even though I'm sure some of you are adults, I'm still continuing my fourteen year old interest so I'm sure others are too because that's totally valid, I don't feel comfortable talking to people who might be under the age of eighteen on the internet outside of public spaces. I'm really sorry if I'm offending anyone by this. I hope you all continue to read and review my story because I work hard on it and enjoy writing it and sharing it with all of you. Thank you for your time.

* * *

 **Voldemort**

" _Despite the weather it gets better, you won't do this alone."_ –"Voldemort" -With Confidence

 **Percy**

Percy's twenty-one when he gets a text from Annabeth's roommate, Clarisse. It's 6:24AM.

CLARISSE: Annabeth threw up all night and wouldn't go to the doctor. I have a game. Get over here and help her or I will crush your soul.

PERCY: What?

CLARISSE: She caught the Freshman Plague which is some kind of flu this year. Get here now. I'm not leaving until I know she's in good hands.

Percy's not surprised Annabeth caught the Freshman Plague. It happens every year. She works at the library so she's exposed to all members of the student-body and their germs.

Percy's phone beeps and he checks it. He has another message from Clarisse.

CLARISSE: Or at least yours.

Percy rolls his eyes at the follow-up text. Clarisse acts big and tough but she's secretly soft on the inside.

CLARISSE: Hurry up! If I miss the bus, you owe me the money it'll take to drive for five hours to the game.

On the _way_ deep down inside.

Percy's glad Annabeth's dorm is only a five-minute walk away from his. He's also glad that he opted for a single this year because he falls out of bed and lets loose a string of cuss-words after he catches his breath from the impact of the fall. (His bed is three and a half feet off the ground so his dresser can fit under it.) Percy staggers up, fumbles around his desk for his keys, finds shoes, puts them on wrong, takes them off, puts them on the right way, runs out of the room, and then stumbles back, grabs his student ID and his phone off his desk, and then dashes out of the room, making sure to lock the door first.

Percy sprints to Annabeth's dorm. He swipes in and sneaks up to Annabeth's room on the third floor, and knocks on the door.

Clarisse opens the door and smirks at Percy. "Someone likes Stitch."

Percy forgot he was wearing the Lilo and Stitch pajama bottoms Annabeth gave him for his birthday. It's still too hot for the matching shirt so he's wearing a t-shirt with Stitch on it that Grover got him for Christmas last year. So yes, Percy _does_ like Stitch.

"Where is she?" Percy asks.

"She's in bed. She would probably greet you, but she just found a position that doesn't make her want to barf."

"Please don't reference that." Annabeth croaks.

"I'll be off. I asked Chris to pick up some medicine and soup for Sicky in there. There's some stuff in the cabinet above the sink but not much. You should probably just take her to the hospital so they can prescribe something and get her a doctor's note if she isn't feeling great on Monday. She thinks she'll kick it by then so she can take her Abnormal Psych test but I doubt it. She's been barfing up a storm and that's not super common when it comes to an adult having the flu."

"Does she have a fever?"

"Fever, aches, the works. No sneezing or chest discomfort, but most of the other symptoms mentioned by the CDC website."

"The what?"

"CDC; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

"Oh,"

"I have to go. Take care of her."

"I will."

"And stay out of my stuff."

"I can do that also."

Clarisse leaves and Percy walks into the room. He looks around and sees the two unopened tissue boxes on Annabeth's desk, her trashcan half-way full of used tissues, a bucket which Percy assumes has been puked into at some point this morning, an open box of tissues on Annabeth's nightstand, and Annabeth, curled up in a ball on her bed. She has tissues stuffed up both her nostrils, her face is flushed, and she's shivering.

"Hey Annabeth," Percy sits on the floor so Annabeth can look at him without straining to look up.

"Sorry Clarisse texted you." Annabeth says. Her voice sounds like she thought gargling rocks would be a good idea.

"I'm glad she did. You might've been here all on your lonesome otherwise with her gone for the weekend." Percy replies.

"I would've been fine." Annabeth frowns and clears her throat. She winces.

"Does your throat hurt?"

"I'm okay."

"You're sick. You don't have to do everything by yourself. I'm here; please let me take care of you."

Annabeth doesn't say anything for a little while and Percy isn't sure if she's ignoring him or sleeping.

Finally, Annabeth says, "My throat hurts a little."

"Can I get you anything?"

"No, anything you get will require me moving and I'd rather not do that."

"What would you like to do instead? Do you want to watch a movie?"

"No." Annabeth glances at her nightstand.

Percy looks at the nightstand too and sees a book. He picks it up. It's _The Sun Is Also A Star_ by Nicola Yoon. "Do you want me to read to you?" Percy asks.

"That's okay."

Annabeth knows Percy hates reading out loud.

"It's no problem if you do want me to read to you. You're sick. You get anything you want." Percy says.

"What about a million dollars?" Annabeth raises an eyebrow.

"I might have five cents on my school account that can be accessed through my student ID, but after that, I can't help you if it involves money."

"You haven't refilled it in a while; have you?"

"That and paying for school is freaking expensive. I just finished getting all my textbooks for the semester."

"I could've helped you."

"No. You should only dip into your trust fund for emergencies."

"I still can't believe my mom set that up. I just assumed she forgot about me."

Annabeth's mom left her a sum of money to be used while she's in college. Upon completion of college, Annabeth will be given an additional sum of money to start her life outside of school. Her mom dropped in on Annabeth before sophomore year started to tell her this. She couldn't remember when Annabeth turned eighteen and visited the daughter she abandoned a year late to tell her about the trust-fund. Athena was not thrilled when her daughter was upset by her presence. Annabeth almost refused the money but then she got her financial aid offer for the year and changed her mind. Percy doesn't blame her. Student loans are no joke. Percy has a lot of financial aid because he supports himself when he's not in school.

"I don't think anyone could truly forget you, Wise Girl." Percy says.

Annabeth cracks a smile. Her lips are chapped and bleeding.

"Do you need anything for your lips?" Percy asks.

"I'm okay." Annabeth replies. "I didn't even know they were bleeding."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay, let's get to this book then." Percy opens the book up to the bookmarked page. Then he starts reading. He fumbles over some words here and there, but it's an interesting story. It's well-written as far as he can tell. It's cool because the author connects all the characters and gives them a backstory which makes everyone in the story important.

After a while, Percy looks up from the book and sees that Annabeth's asleep. He's glad. She needs it. Percy can't help but stare for a few moments. She never looks calm except when she's asleep. She's always a more active emotion (happy, sad, excited, upset, angry, annoyed) when she's awake; she only looks peaceful and at rest when she's literally resting.


	5. Rebel Beat

" _You need time to cope and time to heal, time to cry if it's what you feel.  
Oh, life can hurt when it gets too real, I can hold you up when it's hard to deal."_ – "Rebel Beat" -Goo Goo Dolls-

ANNABETH

Age 17

Annabeth and Percy are sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa in her living room while watching _Lilo and Stitch._ It's getting late and Percy has been staying here for a few days. She doesn't mind because her dad's out of town for work and she appreciates the company. It just seems like Percy's _avoiding_ home and Annabeth isn't sure if it's because of what happened to his mom or if there's something else.

"Why don't you want to go home?" Annabeth asks.

"If I go home, I'll just remember that my mom isn't there." Percy answers.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Annabeth asks. She has been asking that question a lot lately. She hopes that he'll open up about what he's feeling one of these days.

"Not really." Percy replies.

"Are you sure? It might help." Annabeth wilts a little with disappointment and worry. How can she help him if he won't talk to her about this?

"I'm sure."

"It's an open offer by the way, so if you change your mind, I'm here."

"Okay. Thanks for that."

"Any time."

Percy yawns and leans against Annabeth's shoulder.

"This is the best part of the movie." Percy says in a soft voice. His shaggy hair tickles Annabeth's neck.

They're at the part of the movie when Nani and David take Lilo and Stitch surfing.

Annabeth doesn't know what to say, so she carefully leans her head against Percy's. Annabeth's worried about Percy. He has nearly stopped taking care of himself since his mom died five days ago. His hair is a greasy mess like he hasn't showered in a few days. His eyes are bloodshot and puffy from bouts of crying and not sleeping. Just about every time Annabeth has seen Percy these past few days, he has been holding a drink with caffeine in it. He has stayed at Annabeth's house every night since his mom died. Well, except the first night. He came to school the next day with a black eye, bruises all over his face, a split lip, and a limp. He refuses to talk about the source of his injuries. Annabeth has her suspicions, but she can't report his stepdad until Percy confirms that his stepdad is in fact the cause. If he doesn't tell her then he might lie to any official that Annabeth tries to get him to talk to. If Percy's stepdad _is_ hurting him, getting involved without a plan might hurt Percy rather than help him.

Still, Annabeth's worried about Percy. His mom just died and he won't talk about it. He's getting beat up by someone and he won't talk about it. He's clearly not sleeping and he won't talk about it with Annabeth or Grover or any of their other friends. Why's he holding everything in like this? It isn't healthy.

"Percy?" Annabeth asks.

"Yeah?" Percy whispers.

"I know I just asked, but is there another reason why you don't want to go home?" Annabeth knows she just asked, but she thinks he's holding something back.

Percy sighs. "I just told you. I miss my mom."

"Is that the only reason?" Annabeth asks tentatively.

"What other reason do I need?" Percy tenses up.

"You don't _need_ another reason; I'm just wondering if you not wanting to go home and your injuries are connected."

Percy hesitates. "Even if they were, there's nothing anyone can do about it."

"We could tell a teacher."

"It's not that simple."

"Why?"

"I really don't want to talk about this."

"Okay."

Neither of them says anything for a few minutes. They watch the movie in silence that falls on them like a heavy blanket in the summer.

When Annabeth can't take it anymore, she asks, "Are you hungry?"

"Not really," Percy answers. He leans against the couch instead of Annabeth.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah,"

"You haven't been eating much lately."

"I haven't been hungry lately."

"Yeah,"

They fall into silence again. Percy breaks it this time.

"I just can't believe she's gone; you know?" Percy asks. "I thought she was safe."

"Yeah," Annabeth whispers. She doesn't know what to say. This is the first time someone important has died. She doesn't know how to help Percy and hardly knows how to react to it herself.

Percy sits up. "Can we watch a different movie?" he asks.

Annabeth's heart hurts _. Lilo and Stitch_ is Percy's all-time favorite Disney movie. It was also his mom's favorite Disney movie.

"Yeah; did you have anything in mind?" Annabeth asks.

"Not really," Percy replies.

"Do you want to try out a tv show?" Annabeth asks. "I heard _Merlin_ was good."

"Okay," Percy says.

Annabeth puts _Merlin_ on. The first episode is good; Thalia said it would be. Annabeth wishes they were watching it under different circumstances.

Percy drops his head onto Annabeth's shoulder after the credits roll from the first episode.

Annabeth cautiously turns her head to see that Percy's asleep. At least he's sleeping somewhere. As far as Annabeth knows, this is the first time Percy has slept in forty-eight hours. He fell asleep on her couch when they were doing homework together on Wednesday and woke up from a nightmare. He hasn't slept since; until now.

Annabeth uses her phone to research the process of grief to see if there's anything she can do to help Percy get through this. She stops after an hour or so because she gets a headache from reading. She often gets headaches from intense reading because of her dyslexia. The research feels unfruitful because there's not much she can do to help her friend other than listen to him when he _does_ talk to her about what he's feeling and try to remind him to take care of himself. Most of the articles she read suggest time will help Percy the most.

...

Percy skipped class today. He showed up at her house after she got home from school. Annabeth's glad Percy's here because he didn't reply to any of the text messages she sent him throughout the day.

"Why weren't you in our homeroom today?" Annabeth asks.

Percy shrugs. "I didn't feel like going."

"Why?"

"I suck at school. What difference is going to class going to make? College is out of question now that I have to work two jobs to keep everything from falling apart at home-if I can even call it a home." Percy snaps.

Annabeth recoils at Percy's tone. He must be exhausted. He never talks like this. "What do you mean?" Annabeth asks.

"My stepdad's a lazy piece of crap and last month he decided I should get a job so he doesn't have to work extra to make up for the money my mom would've made if she were alive. Then, I got my first paycheck and Gabe decided that I wasn't making enough so now I have _two_ jobs." Percy's voice grows louder with each word. His face is red and his eyes are bloodshot and there are purple bags around them.

"Why's he doing this?" Annabeth asks in a quiet voice.

"He sucks." Percy replies.

Annabeth's tries to recover from the shock of hearing Percy speak so poorly about anyone. He's usually so nice. It's one of his best qualities.

"I don't really want to go home and deal with him right now. Is it okay if I do homework here? I can pay for dinner if you want. Please?" Percy asks.

"Of course, you can stay here, but no, you don't need to pay for dinner. We've got leftovers in the fridge. I made potato soup yesterday. Are you hungry now? We can do homework later." Annabeth's confused as to why Percy offered to pay for dinner. He hasn't done so when he has eaten at her house before. Why's he starting now? He doesn't need to offer that and Annabeth hasn't suggested that he should.

"Whichever order you want. I don't want to mess up your routine." Percy says.

Why's he suddenly self-conscious about this?

"It's not a problem at all." Annabeth replies.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure. You're my best friend, Seaweed Brain. My house is your house."

"Thanks, Wise Girl."

"Any time." Annabeth offers Percy her hand.

Percy laces their fingers.

They walk into the house together.

"Where's your dad?" Percy asks as they enter the kitchen.

"He's at a conference or some kind of business trip. I don't really know. He stopped leaving notes on the fridge once senior year started." Annabeth says without thinking.

"Oh,"

Annabeth winces. She didn't mean to tell him that. "Sorry; it slipped out. It's okay. I'm fine."

Percy gives Annabeth a knowing look and says, "I don't believe you, but I'll let it slide if you want me to."

"I _do_ want you to."

"Okay,"

"Thanks."

"Any time."

Annabeth smiles at Percy. He smiles back, but it doesn't quite meet his eyes.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Annabeth asks.

"Can we watch that show we started last month?" Percy asks.

"Yeah; can you get the bowls out while I get the show ready?"

"Okay,"

Annabeth leaves the kitchen and goes into the living room to set up the show. There's a crash approximately two minutes later.

"Percy?" Annabeth asks as she rushes to the kitchen. "Are you okay?"

Percy doesn't answer.

Annabeth walks into the kitchen to find Percy frantically picking up broken pieces of a glass cup.

He jumps when he sees her. "Sorry! I was thirsty and I tried to get a cup and," Percy's voice cuts off. "Sorry, I dropped it. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

"It's okay. It's just a cup. Maybe you shouldn't use your hands to pick up the pieces though. They're probably sharp and you might hurt yourself." Annabeth squats down and puts her hand on Percy's shoulder.

Percy flinches and drops the pieces of glass he was holding. "Please-please-please don't-please don't hurt-please don't hurt me." He crawls backwards until his back is against a cabinet. His face is white and his eyes are wide.

Annabeth's chest tightens at the fear in her best friend's voice. She removes her hand and says, "I won't hurt you."

Percy looks at her with confused green eyes. "You won't? But, I broke it. You can't use it anymore and it's my fault."

"It was an accident. You didn't mean to break the cup."

"That doesn't mean that I didn't do it. It's my fault. There's no getting around it. I screwed up."

"It's just a cup Percy. It's okay." Annabeth hopes Percy can hear her; she can barely get any sound out. "Does someone hurt you when you make mistakes like this?"

Percy doesn't answer. He starts picking up the pieces again. He's shaking.

"Percy, please don't use your hands. You might cut yourself. I have a broom we can use instead." Annabeth says.

"We?" Percy's voice crackles.

"Yes; we're going to clean up this mess together."

"But it's not _your_ mess."

"It isn't, but I'm going to help you anyway; okay?"

Percy nods. He still won't look at her.

"Can I help you up?" Annabeth asks, slowly reaching her hand out to Percy.

Percy nods again and takes Annabeth's hand.

She pulls him up.

"Thanks." Percy whispers. There's a far-away look in his glassy eyes.

"Can I hug you?" Annabeth asks.

Percy shakes his head and drops Annabeth's hand.

"Okay, let's go get that broom." Annabeth tries to smile at Percy but doesn't think she succeeds. He's not looking at her anyway.

They walk to the closet and Percy grabs the broom. Annabeth pulls out the little pan that goes with the broom. They go back to the kitchen and Percy sweeps the shards of glass into the little pan that Annabeth holds. Annabeth takes the pieces and throws them away when Percy's finished sweeping.

Annabeth wishes she knew why Percy begged her to not hurt him. Who hurts him? Is it his stepdad? Does he hit Percy when Percy breaks things? Does he badger Percy about simple accidents being Percy's fault? Does he scream and yell at Percy? How frequently does this happen? Is that why Percy's confidence tends to be shaky at best?

Annabeth doesn't know how to help Percy. She wishes she could think of something specific to do. When she walks back into the kitchen, she hears Percy's stomach growl. Well, at least she can help with _that_. She gets the soup out of the fridge, puts it on the counter, pulls a ladle out of a drawer, and grabs one of the bowls Percy got out. She fills the bowl with soup and hands it to Percy.

"Can you put this in the microwave for like four minutes?" Annabeth asks.

Percy nods and sets to work on the task.

Annabeth ladles herself some soup and waits until Percy's is finished. "That one's yours." Annabeth gestures to the microwave when it beeps.

Percy nods and takes his soup out of the microwave. "Can I have a spoon please?" he asks.

Annabeth gets a spoon out of the utensil drawer and passes it to Percy.

"Can I eat in the living room?" Percy's voice sounds wrong; it's toneless but shaky.

Annabeth nods.

Percy walks away and Annabeth watches him go.

When Annabeth's food is ready, she gets herself a spoon, and takes her food to the living room. She sits beside Percy who's staring at the television which is frozen on the show.

"Percy?" Annabeth asks.

He doesn't answer or move.

"Percy?" Annabeth asks.

Percy takes a bite of soup but doesn't say anything.

"Please talk to me." Annabeth says in a quiet voice. She's trying not to panic, but it's hard to remember how to breathe right now. Percy does not seem okay and Annabeth's not sure why. Why won't he reply? Does she need to call someone for help? Is he okay?

Percy doesn't answer.

"Can you hear me?" Annabeth forces the question past the lump in her throat and blinks back tears.

Percy nods.

"Why won't you talk to me?" Annabeth asks. Her voice shakes. She's about to lose it.

"Sometimes silence is better. It's less trouble." Percy's voice is so soft Annabeth nearly doesn't hear him.

"Why?" Annabeth whispers.

"Because then I don't say anything that will get me into trouble. Silence is literally less trouble."

Annabeth swipes at her eyes as the world becomes a blur. She clears her throat and asks, "Where did you learn this?"

"Home." Percy whispers and puts the bowl of soup on the floor beside him.

"Are you safe there?"

Percy hesitates. He chews on his lip and looks everywhere except at Annabeth. His face flushes and he whispers, "No."

"Do you want to talk to someone about it? You could talk to a teacher. They could help you. Maybe you should talk to Mr. Brunner? I'll go with you if you want."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I just can't."

"But, you're not safe. Don't you want to go somewhere that's safe?"

Percy sniffles. " _Of course_ , I want to be safe, but what if I get put somewhere else that isn't safe? What if I'm placed somewhere worse? What if they don't believe me and Gabe gets worse? He's a great actor. That's what happened the day my mom died. She reported him for child abuse. Then she fell down the stairs. I don't think safe is a realistic option for me. It's just familiar bad or possibly better or possibly worse. I just want to get to have a normal senior year like everybody else and not worry about breaking stuff and getting my lights knocked out. But I can't. That's apparently too much to ask of Gabe." Percy's voice breaks and he presses his hands against his face. "Sorry, I just. I'm _so tired_ from my jobs and I can't go home because it's, it's not home anymore and it hasn't been home for a long time even when my mom was there because I was always scared that I was going to mess up and Gabe was going to hurt her and _he did_. It's all my fault. If she hadn't tried to protect me, she would still be alive." Percy's shaking and he sounds seconds away from crying.

Annabeth doesn't know what to say. She's mostly just trying to hide the hot tears that won't stop spilling from her eyes and dripping down her face.

"Can I hug you?" she asks.

Percy looks at her like he's not sure if her question is genuine or not. Does he really believe she won't hurt him? That she's not like Gabe? That she's not mad about the glass?

"I won't hurt you. I promise." Annabeth says even though she has a feeling that these words won't mean much to Percy after all the unknown horrors he has been through. Annabeth's words don't change Percy's living situation.

Percy nods.

Annabeth hugs him.

Percy buries his face in Annabeth's shoulder and tightly hugs her back like he's scared she'll disappear. Percy always hugs Annabeth like this when he's upset.

"I'm so tired." Percy sniffles. "Please don't leave me too because I don't know what I would do without you," his voice hitches, "and I can't-I can't," Percy starts to cry. "I can't do this alone. I tried and I-I can't,"

"You're not alone." Annabeth hugs Percy a little tighter so he knows she's not going to disappear on him. "I'm not going to leave you."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Thank you."

"Any time."

…

 **Review Replies:**

 **Meistar** : I'm glad this makes you feel things. The timeline is a bit scattered. My goal is to get their points of view from all of adolescence and sprinkles of adulthood. Thank you for reading and reviewing my fanfic!:)


	6. St Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)

Rated T for mentions of child abuse and foul language.

* * *

 **"St. Elmo's Fire (Man in Motion)" -John Parr**

 **Percy**

Percy's twenty-two when he finds himself in a karaoke lounge with his friends. They're celebrating Jason's birthday, so of course Leo and Piper planned something that's somewhere between outrageous and awkward. It's fun watching everyone get up on the small stage and sing. At least it's fun until his friends decide _Percy_ should get up and sing too. Percy would much rather listen to Annabeth sing. Percy loves Annabeth, but although love is blind, it is not deaf. Annabeth can't carry a tune, but she clearly likes to sing. She looks so free up there. She got very into "Ironic" by Alanis Morrissette and "Spiderwebs" by Gwen Stafani (or is it No Doubt? Percy can't remember). Either way, Percy thinks he has discovered a new part of Annabeth: nineties pop. How did he not know she loves this stuff? Percy's excited to find out exactly how important this music is to Annabeth. All Percy knows about nineties pop is "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes and "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys because of _Brooklyn Nine-Nine._ Although, Percy should've realized Annabeth likes nineties pop because she already knew those songs when they watched the episodes together. Percy just assumed Annabeth was a traitor and had seen the episodes without him.

"Okay Percy, literally everyone has gone up except for you. It's your turn." Leo says.

"Yeah Percy, even _I_ went up." Thalia says.

"I don't know. I feel like I should be the one saying the even-I-did-it bit." Nico muses.

"Nah," Will puts his arm around Nico's shoulders. "You're a great singer."

"It doesn't matter anyway. Nico and Thalia are both wrong. The even-I-went-up bit belongs to me." Reyna says.

Percy smiles at his friends' bickering, but he doesn't want to sing in front of them. It's just not something he does in front of people anymore. He used to sing all the time—especially with his mom. Then Smelly Gabe decided that singing wasn't a manly enough activity for fifteen year old Percy and let him know in extreme detail. Percy shakes his head to get the bad memories away. He probably looks like a dog shaking water off because of how shaggy his hair is right now. Not that it matters. Annabeth likes Percy's hair like this and Percy hates getting haircuts, so it works for him.

"I think I should get to take the even-I-did-the-thing prize because I was horrible." Annabeth says. "You all sounded decent. Also, if Percy doesn't want to go up there, he doesn't have to."

"See?" Percy points at Annabeth. "Someone's on my side."

"We could tell you really enjoyed singing though, so at least there's that." Hazel says.

"Thanks Hazel." Annabeth smiles.

"Do we have to do that embarrassing cheering thing so you get up there?" Jason asks.

"We really shouldn't be trying to force Percy to go up there." Grover reminds everyone.

"It's okay G-Man. Thanks though." Percy says. "I don't think I'll get to live this down if I don't go up."

Percy gets up and goes to the mic. Everyone cheers. Well, Grover and Annabeth look a little worried, but Percy smiles at them and they smile back.

"I just want to start by saying that what most of you all did tonight is wrong." Percy grins. "Peer-pressure is not a thing to play with and everyone who cheered should be ashamed of themselves."

"We'll figure out exactly how ashamed we should be _after_ we hear you sing." Nico smirks.

Percy rolls his eyes at his cousin who flips him off in return.

The karaoke machine starts a song. Percy looks at the title; it's "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". It's from a movie from the '80's with the same name ( _St. Elmo's Fire_ ). Percy's mom loved '80's movies and they used to watch them together. Percy hasn't seen this one though. Percy's heart tugs at the thought of his mom. He still misses her so much. There's so much of his life he wishes she could've seen: high school graduation, pictures from Annabeth's and Percy's first date (his mother shipped them so hard), college graduation, whenever he will eventually propose to Annabeth (not yet, but soon), if they ever get married, none of their parents will be at the wedding. Stupid smelly, slimy, sadistic Gabe.

Percy knows he has heard this song before. He's not sure if he did watch the movie or if he heard it on the radio. He loves old music like Led Zeppelin, so he could've heard the song then. Either way, he likes the song, and he knows lots of the words already. He used to feel alone—like the song talks about—but Annabeth never left his side; neither did Grover or any of his other friends. They gave him strength when he needed it most and reminded him that no matter how alone he felt, they would be there for him.

" _You know, in some ways, you're a lot like me,  
You're just a prisoner, and you're tryin' to break free,"_

Percy remembers finding Annabeth crying in the school library on several occasions during their junior and senior years of high school because she was so stressed out. He remembers her crying over her parents for as long as he has known her. She wants to be free of them and not feel constricted by the role she thinks she's supposed to play as their daughter. They don't pay attention to her and it has taken a toll on her. Percy hates that they've done that to her. It's cruel. Annabeth feels so small sometimes. That's why she puts so much pressure on herself to be the best because she thinks then she'll earn their affection through her grades and accomplishments. It breaks Percy's heart to know that she feels that way. She didn't want to tell him about it either. She told him towards the end of their senior year after she failed a quiz because she was so stressed out about college and graduating and being senior class president and National Honor Society president and French Honor Society secretary and planning all sorts of events in those groups for people who didn't care about her or what she was doing. Annabeth told him in the library where they would meet up during their free period. Percy pulled her aside and they sat in a corner of the library hidden behind rows and rows of books as Annabeth explained how horribly she felt. Percy didn't know how to react at the time, so he just asked if he could hug her. That seemed to be the last straw for Annabeth because she burst into tears and nodded her head. Percy hugged Annabeth and she clung to him as she cried for over an hour. Percy was so overwhelmed by the experience that he cried with her. He just felt so bad for her. They went to Annabeth's counselor for help and she recommended that Annabeth drop an activity. She resigned from senior class president. It was the one she liked the least. She felt a little better about senior year after that.

Percy's still trying to break free of something too: Gabe Ugliano. Percy feels like a prisoner to memories of the awful man. He's worried that no matter what he does, he'll turn out like that crappy man. Percy tries his hardest to be nice to people, but it doesn't feel like it's enough to stop him from turning into a monster. He's tries a lot of ways to be the opposite of Gabe. One thing he's trying is swearing off alcohol. He didn't tell anyone until he and Annabeth were both twenty-one and Annabeth wanted to try alcohol for the first time. (She's a big rule-follower and despite the easy access she has had since her teen years, hadn't tried it out yet.) Percy refused. When Annabeth asked why, Percy cracked and explained that he didn't want to consume the same poison as Gabe did. Annabeth reassured Percy that nothing could make Percy become Gabe, but she has respected his wishes and hasn't offered him alcohol since then. She doesn't drink around Percy either. Percy told her that she didn't have to refrain just because he does, but he felt better seeing how supportive she was about it. She drinks sometimes with Thalia and some of their other friends, but never around Percy. Annabeth hasn't told anyone, but Grover and Thalia have picked up on Annabeth's habit and refrain from drinking around him too. He appreciates their support.

Percy gives the chorus his all. He feels passionate about the idea of being "a man in motion" for Annabeth. He wants to break free of the past and feel solid instead of trapped in things he can't change. He's trying. He's trying so freaking hard despite all the nightmares and the ache for his mom and the unnerving sense he always has that he isn't good enough for Annabeth. Annabeth has always promised Percy that he is exactly good enough for her. She showed him a song called "Big Machine" by the Goo Goo Dolls that has the lyrics, "You're all I'm not. I don't need what you ain't got." She promised that's how she feels. She wants him—not anyone else and that he _is_ good enough for her because he's brilliant and kind and brave and a bunch of other good things that Percy just _really_ needed to hear that day. Annabeth's all he isn't too and he doesn't need anything she doesn't have either. She's amazing and intelligent and beautiful and sweet and stubborn and he loves so many other things about her, but these are his favorites.

" _And I can make it, I know I can."_

When he sings the part about making it, Percy smiles. Every person in this room has stood at his side and given him the help he needs to make it. He might've made it on his own, but he's so freaking grateful he never had to find that out for sure. He thinks about Annabeth, who rescues him any time he needs her as long as he keeps his promise to do the same for her. They're a team. He thinks about Grover who offered to let Percy live in his and his wife, Juniper's apartment for free. (Percy has negotiated staying in their spare room for what the three have decided is a fair rent instead of staying for free.) Percy thinks about his four (at times snarky) cousins who he knows love him as much as he loves them. He thinks about his friends who he met at different times in his life, who have been with Percy through ups and downs like his failed thesis his senior year of college, getting his job as a lifeguard at the Rec, his high school swim meets, being turned down for a job at a science museum, breaking his ankle skateboarding in middle school, getting an internship at an aquarium. They've all seen so much and stuck around anyway.

" _You broke the boy in me,"_

Smelly Gabe's face flashes in Percy's mind and Percy practically shouts the words, "but you won't break the man!" Gabe put Percy through so much. Percy still has scars and nightmares and there are times when he needs people to repeat what they say five or more times and he's scared to keep asking them to repeat themselves because he can't concentrate anyway and he doesn't want them to get mad at him like Gabe did and he ends up in tears because he thinks they'll hate him by the end of the conversation. Gabe gave Percy so many bruises and nearly killed him twice. He really did kill Percy's mom. He threatened to kill Annabeth and Grover on numerous occasions. Percy wishes he could've sent Gabe to prison, but that's the part of Percy that he's afraid of: the part that wants justification and revenge—the part that's angry…so angry. Percy's trying to let it go. He knows he's allowed to be angry because Gabe was wrong for hurting Percy—Percy's starting to believe that. He's just afraid that if he lets himself dwell on the anger too much, he'll go bad.

" _And my time is now, I'm comin' alive!"_

Percy knows he has a lot of work to do, but he's going to be okay. His friends and family have helped him so far and even though he's terrified that he doesn't deserve it and worries they'll leave him one day, he believes that they'll stick around.

The song's only four minutes and some change long, but Percy feels emotionally drained when he's done singing. It brought up so much. Annabeth can tell. She's at his side almost as soon as Percy's off the stage.

"You did such a good job." Annabeth smiles as she hugs Percy. She whispers into his ear, "Are you okay?"

Percy nods. "Thanks for checking, Wise Girl."

"Any time, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth kisses Percy's cheek.

Percy feels warm inside. He loves her so much. "I love you so much." Percy tells Annabeth.

"I love you too." Annabeth replies.

They pull away and Annabeth grins. "Do you want to do another song? This one will be fun. I'll pick it."

"Well, if it's a fun one then I guess we better." Percy grins back. He rarely finds it in him to tell her "no" when she's this excited about something. Plus, she has a determined sparkle in her eyes that tells Percy that Annabeth's getting on stage with or without Percy, so he might as well join her. Percy has never been able to decide if Annabeth would be a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin. Annabeth took the Pottermore quiz once and won't tell Percy what she got. She probably got something unexpected like Gryffindor. Percy's a proud GryffinPuff. He has taken the test multiple times and has gotten Gryffindor and Hufflepuff the same amount of times (four each—he has so many fake emails because of this).

They walk onto the stage and Annabeth programs the karaoke machine. "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey plays.

Annabeth grins at Percy and says, "Classic karaoke song."

Percy grins back. This song is not at all in his vocal range, so he and Annabeth both sing loudly and ugly together. It's amazing.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!**


End file.
